Test Results

If you are phoning for the result of a test, we would like you to do this after 11:00am. Your doctor or nurse should try and remind you of this at the time. This allows time for the incoming blood results and letters for that day to scanned into you records and then checked by your doctor. The reception staff should also have more time do deal with your request at these relatively quieter times.

Most blood, urine and swab results are back at the surgery within 2-3 days although more specialised tests can take longer. The results of most other GP requested tests e.g. X-rays/scans can take an average of 10 days to arrive back at the surgery. Waiting times have risen significantly in 2014 however, sometimes taking 4-5 weeks for a result to be reported, so if in doubt please call the surgery to check beforehand. Also, if the test was requested by a consultant in hospital it will probably take 3-4 weeks before your GP is notified. We experience similar lengthy delays for clinic and hospital discharge letters. We appreciate this can be frustrating and is far from ideal but unfortunately, we do not have any control over this.

Whilst we endeavour to notify patients of abnormal results, we would ask you to assume some active responsibility in finding out the results of your tests.

Hospital Appointments

With local waiting times often quite long it is understandable this is also a source of frustration! Patients commonly want to chase up their appointment times or try and bring them forward. However, we again have no control over the appointment allocation and our secretaries do not have privileged access to the hospital departments. Urgent appointments are offered according to set clinical conditions and consultants will not accept letters from GPs appealing for a particular patient to be pushed up the ladder. We would therefore ask patients to contact the hospital directly if they have enquires about their appointment time or wish to be put on cancellation lists.